← Guides

Which websites do AI assistants cite? We asked 12 buying questions

Updated 20 October 2026

We asked an AI assistant with live web search 12 questions buyers really ask, from accounting software to health insurance, and recorded every website it cited. Across 12 answers it cited 97 different sites, and only two came up more than once. Here is what that means for getting your brand into AI answers.

How was the study done?

On 20 October 2026 we asked Claude (Opus 5.5) each question once, with web search on, using the same setup as SellHax's free AI check. We recorded the domain of every source it cited and grouped them into five kinds: the company's own website, review and comparison sites, small blogs and niche sites, established media, and community platforms.

It is a small sample: one assistant, one run per question, 12 questions, 9 of them about India. Answers change between runs and between assistants, so read the numbers as a pattern, not a ranking.

What kinds of sites were cited?

Companies' own websites: 49% of citations, and at least one in every answer.
Small blogs and niche sites: 20% of citations, in 10 of 12 answers.
Review and comparison sites (Capterra, Techjockey, Policybazaar, BikeDekho, Careers360 and others): 18%, in 9 of 12 answers.
Established media (Forbes, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Search Engine Land): 6%, in 5 of 12 answers.
Community platforms (Quora, Medium, dev.to and others): 6%, in 5 of 12 answers.

Do you need to be on famous sites?

Not in this sample. Big-name media made up about one citation in 16. Small, focused blogs and review sites were each cited about three times as often, and they are far easier to get featured on.

Does every category have its own sources?

Yes. 97 different sites across 12 answers, and only two (onlinenifm.com and techradar.com) appeared in more than one. There is no single site that gets you into AI answers everywhere; you need the handful that matter in your category, which is why asking your own customers' questions is the first step.

Do Indian questions get Indian sources?

Largely. Of the 97 sites, 55 were Indian or India-focused, and the Indian questions were answered mostly from Indian review sites, blogs and companies. A brand selling in India is better served by coverage on sites Indian buyers read than by a global wire.

What should a brand do with this?

Make your own site citable: a plain description, pricing, and pages that compare you honestly. Companies' own sites were the most cited kind.
Get listed on the review and comparison sites for your category.
Get featured on the niche blogs and publications your category's answers already cite, rather than chasing famous names.
Check your own questions: the sources differ for every category.

What was cited for each question?

Best accounting software for small businesses in India: aiaccountant.com, capterra.in, catusharmakkar.com, enkash.com, gimbooks.com, onlinenifm.com, profitbooks.net, taxone.vyapar.com, techjockey.com.
Best project management tool for a small remote team: dailyvanguard.com, dev.to, kanbanchi.com, project-management.com, smartsuite.com, softwarefinder.com, thedigitalprojectmanager.com, wrike.com.
Best payment gateway for a startup in India: claudecms.com, designingjunctions.com, dhanaay.com, growwwtech.com, henindia.com, shop2host.com, startupbricks.in, storeengine.pro, xflowpay.com.
Best credit card for travel rewards in India: 1finance.co.in, cardexpert.in, creators.spotify.com, indiabonds.com, medium.com, moneyview.in, surmaiduniya.com, tripcabinet.com, wise.com.
Best health insurance plan for a family in India: fincover.com, forbes.com, insurancedekho.com, joinditto.in, nyvo.in, onsurity.com, policybazaar.com.
Best online course platform to learn data science in India: bmuonline.org, careers360.com, collegedunia.com, learn.modernagecoders.com, logicmojo.com, news.careers360.com, scaler.com, trainingskart.com, upgrad.com.
Best CRM for small businesses: brevo.com, capterra.com, croclub.com, fayedigital.com, gohighlevel.com, nimble.com, techradar.com.
Best electric scooter to buy in India: bajajfinserv.in, bikedekho.com, e-vehicleinfo.com, ekotejas.in, evindiaexpo.in, opgmobility.com, quora.com, zigwheels.com.
Best website builder for a small business: block.fiverr.com, launchthedamnthing.com, mailerlite.com, optinmonster.com, sitebuilderreport.com, techradar.com, tomsguide.com, websitebuilderexpert.com.
Best HR and payroll software in India: darwinbox.com, eklavya.com, employwise.com, infowan.net, kredily.com, peoplestrong.com, salarybox.in.
Best app to invest in mutual funds in India: chittorgarh.com, creditkaro.com, fisdom.com, huggingface.co, invezz.com, joinfingrad.com, mymudra.com, onlinenifm.com, zfunds.in.
Best SEO tools for a small marketing team: aioseo.com, expressmedia.net, link-assistant.com, louvemarketing.com, networksolutions.com, poppymarketingandconsulting.com, searchengineland.com, selectsoftwarereviews.com, telescopemapping.com.